Ironing boards



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Unite Stat IRONING BOARDS Application December 17 1956, Serial No. 628,894

1 Claim. (Cl. 38-104) This invention relates to ironing boards.

According to this invention, in an ironing board there is provided a holder for the cord of an electric iron comprising a resiliently supported arm and including a rod or tubular member extending transversely under the main ironing surface and supported there-so as to be rotatable and axially slidable whereby the holder may, by rotational and sliding movement, be moved between an operative position in which the arm is upright and a stowed position with the arm lying underneath the main ironing surface. This cord holder thus provides a resilient support for the cord above the main ironing surface yet can be accommodated under that surface when not in use.

The aforementioned rod or tubular member may be rotatably supported in a downwardly extending flange of a member secured to the underside of the main ironing surface.

To support said arm resiliently, a helical spring may be arranged around said rod or tubular member to urge the arm into an upright position.

The present invention is particularly applicable to an ironing board having a sleeve board as claimed in any of the claims of U.S. application No. 628,896. In such a board the cord holder is preferably mounted on the opposite side of the ironing surface to the sleeve board and arranged so that the arm of the cord holder, when not in use, may rest on the portion of a sleeve board leg or legs which extend transversely under the main ironing surface.

The following is a description of one embodiment of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ironing board; and

Figure 2 is an underside perspective view of the ironing board of Figure 1 shown with the legs in .the stowed position.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a main ironing board which is supported on a pair of pivotallyconnected legs 11, 12. The legs 11, 12 are of tubular form and, where they are pivoted, are provided with flanged bushes 13 with the flanges providing enlarged bearing surfaces in the plane of relative movement, a pivot pin 14 being arranged to extend through the two bushes. At their lower ends the legs are secured to transverse bars 15 having rubber ferrules 16 forming feet. On the underside of the board 10 are secured two longitudinally extending angle members 17 having downwardly extending flanges 18. The leg 11 is secured to a cross member 20 which is pivotally mounted in the two flanges 18. The leg 12 at its upper end is secured to a tubular cross member 21 fitting between the flanges 18 and inside which is an axially movable rod (not shown) having portions of such reduced diameter as to be capable of sliding along guide tracks 22 (Figure 1) which are formed as slots on downwardly extending portions 23 of the flanges 18. Each of the slots 22 is formed 2,923,077 Patented Feb. 2, 1960 with'a number of enlarged holes 24 and the axially movable rod in the tubular cross member 21 has enlarged portions which, by axial movement can be engaged in these holes 24 to prevent movement along the slot. This axially movable rod is preferably spring loaded so as ,to keep it in the locking position in which it engages in one of the holes 24 in each of the slots 22. This construction of legs is more fully described and claimed in copending U.S. application 628,893. 7

A sleeve board 30 is provided having two legs 31 formed of metal rod. Each leg is formed by a rod which has a U-shaped portion 32 somewhere near the centre of its length and from the top of one arm 33 of the U the rod extends in a straight line in the plane of the U and at right angles to that arm of the U for a distance sufficient to position the sleeve board 39 at the required height above the main ironing surface, as shown in Figure 1. At the top end of this straight portion the rod is bent in another right angle to have an end portion 34 (Figure 2) lying in the plane of the U and extending in the downward direction of the U so that the end of the rod lies on or near an extension of the line of the base of the U. This end 34 of the rod fits slidably into a bush 35 or other bearing on the underside of the sleeve board 30. From the top of the second arm 36 of the U, the rod extends initially at right angles to that arm in a plane sloping upwardly from the plane of the U (considering the arrangement in the position shown in Figure 2). From the end of this sloping portion 37 the rod extends at right angles in a direction parallel to the arms of the U and in a plane parallel to but above the plane of the U, this portion 38 extending in a direction opposite to the downward direction of the U. This last mentioned portion fits slidably in pivots in the aforementioned fianges 18. The sloping portions 37 of the rod shaped in this manner permit-that, when the sleeve board 30 is in its lower position in which its underside rests on the arms 33, 36 of the U, the sleeve board is beneath the level of the main ironing surface 10 and hence can he slid underneath the main ironing surface when not in use (as shown in Figure 2). To raise the sleeve board from the position shown in Figure 2 to that shown in Figure 1 it is moved outwards by sliding the portions 38 in their pivots and is then swung upwardly, the portions 38 turning in their pivots. When in the raised position, the sleeve board is pushed inwardly so that the U-shaped portions 32 engage over the edge of the main ironing board 10.

The drawings also show an iron holder 40 which is more fully described and claimed in copending U.S. application No. 628,891, now abandoned. On the opposite side of the board 10 to the iron holder is arranged a cord holder comprising an upright arm 47 (considered in the operative position shown in Figure 1) which at its lower end is bent at a right angle to have a portion 48 (Figure 2) extending through a bush 49 in one of the flanges 18. The end of the portion 48 is bent round to a U-shape to form a stop 50 and there is provided a helical spring 51 surrounding the portion 48 and having one end secured thereto and the other end secured to the underside of the board 10. This helical spring 51 is arranged to urge the arm 47 into the upright position as shown in Figure 1. When the cord holder is to be stowed, the arm 47 is swung downwardly pivoting in the bush 49 and is then pushed underneath the board into the position shown in Figure 2, by sliding in the bush 49.

Also shown in the drawings is a work support 52' for supporting large articles such as sheets.

I claim:

In an ironing board having an ironing surface and a flange protruding downwardly from the underside of said surface and extending longitudinally thereof; a holder for the cord of an electric iron comprising a rod with a portion at right angles to the rod carried on the flange and extending therethrough and rotatable and axially ,slidable in theflange'by means of the right angle portion :about'anaxis parallel to the ironing surface and extending transversely to the flange, said holder having a further portion extending from the right angle portion to form .a U-shaped portion of which said right angle portion constitutes one arm, the U-shaped portion lying in the plane of the axis of said rod and a helical spring means around said right angle portion adapted to urge the holder into a position in which said rod extends up- Wardly with respect to the ironing surface, the rotational and'sliding movement of said rightangle portion in said :flange .permitting the rod to be rotated against the spring force to lie below the level of said ironing surface and to be pushed inwardly to a stowed position beneath said ironing surface, and the end of the other arm of the U acting as a stop against the flange when the holder is moved out from under the ironing surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS .a rr wt 

